The Academy of St Olave's is an English chamber

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

that plays in the beautiful setting of St Olave's Church, York, England. The Academy performs three concerts each year. Players are invited from a large pool of instrumentalists, according to the forces required. The orchestra's repertoire ranges from music of the seventeenth century to that of the present day; from Corelli and Purcell through

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

to Stravinsky, Britten and

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious music, religious works. Among his best known works are ''The Lamb (Tavener), The Lamb'' (1982), ''The ...

. Members also play for occasional church services at St Olave’s. For many years members of the orchestra have taken part in the requiem service for Remembrance Sunday ( Fauré, Duruflé and

in recent years). The Academy was founded in 1978 by Charles Macdonald, Organist and Director of Music at St. Olave's Church, in conjunction with local headmaster-violinist, Robin Gilbert. The reason was to raise money for essential work to be done on the very fine organ at the church. The first concert was given on 8 January 1978 and was preceded by an article in the York newspaper, ''

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

''. By the time funds had been raised the Academy of St Olave's was sufficiently well established in the musical calendar of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

for it to continue to give concerts. After Charles Macdonald moved from York in the early 1980s his successor, Chris Liddle continued with the orchestra, occasionally adding wind players as and when needed, a practice which further developed when Andrew Wright became Musical Director. By the time John Hastie was appointed Musical Director in 1997 the Academy had become a chamber orchestra and it adopted the policy of playing for the Solemn Requiem Mass on Remembrance Sunday at St Olave's Church, offering the Requiem settings by Gabriel Fauré and Maurice Duruflé on alternate years. The current director of the Academy is the celebrated Fitzwilliam Quartet viola player, Alan George. The Academy of St Olave's orchestra does not rehearse on a weekly basis - rehearsals are scheduled over a 2-week period prior to each concert. Players are invited from a large pool of instrumentalists, according to the forces required. Players in the Academy come from a wide range of backgrounds including teachers, gifted amateurs, students, talented school children and professional players. The minimum standard is Grade VIII and players are expected to have a high level of commitment and enthusiasm.

References

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External links

Academy of St. Olave's Orchestra Home Page

St. Olave's Church Home Page

Fitzwilliam String Quartet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Of St Olave's Chamber orchestras Musical groups established in 1978 Classical music in the United Kingdom English orchestras Organisations based in York British instrumental musical groups Music in York 1978 establishments in the United Kingdom